Design and Life Lessons

A Medium page about design and life lessons by Marc Hemeon has been open in my tabs now for days. I’m clearly attached, and don’t want to completely lose track of it. Of the 70ish suggestions made in the list, here are my favorites.

Sketch with big markers — focus on the big idea and concept. Don’t get bogged down in the details.

Show more than images in your portfolio — explain your thinking and ideas behind your work by including copy with your images.

Icons with text are easier to understand — new apps should use text labels to help users understand navigation and features. You can drop the text labels when you hit 10 million users 😉

Design in black and white and add color later — if the design doesn’t work in black and white then adding color won’t help. Get the work right in black and white first.

Try it in German — too many times, when an app or design is internationalized the UI will break. Having more affordance and flexibility in your layouts will account for longer words when switching to other languages.

Punch above your weight class — try what scares you, write that article or share that video tutorial or take that speaking opportunity. Try the uncomfortable.

Done is better than perfect — as designers we can have a tendency to overwork a design. Most of the time the design work we do will be iterated against later.

Cocoapotrace — Marc’s personal favorite live trace tool. Yes the site is a weird geocities site. But the software works great (and it’s free).

Saying NO is a strength — too many times we say yes when we really should say no. People respect no.

Spend time like money — guard your time, it’s your most precious resource.

Comparison kills — if you want to feel crappy about yourself then start comparing yourself to other people. You’re on your own journey and path.

Stop saying “Um”, “I think”, “I feel” and “So” — all of these phrases weaken your statement and make you sound less confident. Removing these words from your speech is difficult but very rewarding.

Contribute more, take less — whatever setting you find yourself in try to be the person giving the most to others, share your insights, your connections and your heart. You receive far more when you give.